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[quote=Lamplight;1173129 One day, when my mom and my dad (a preacher) were here helping me, a group of them stopped by which I hadn't seen in a long time, and before they left they suddenly wanted to pray.
They also wanted to form a circle and hold hands, which was kind of a foreign concept to me even when I was a Christian.
Oh well. Best not to dwell upon it.[/quote]
Or.... do dwell on it, and invite your parents, but then also invite your atheist friends and some of their friends to your house for an informal semi-secular house-warming party. Don't forget your parent's preacher! Also make sure you invite some Wiccans, heathens, chicken-bone readers or... over as well, and make sure they engage in a playful, all-smiles Wiccan house blessing. Maybe you could clean up and use some of the KFC remnants in an unofficial bone reading, right there on top of the laquered black Baby Grand Piano? Just a suggestion....
If your parent's contingent want to "fight back" (Lord! We need to re-bless this house! It's been sullied!"), you can loudly announce that they already did their thing, and you just sought a spiritual "balance". Sort of like what the FOX network strives for!
It will surely tell your lovely parents something about the new you, the mature you, the "I think for myself, thank you VERY much!" you.
But be prepared to get your parent's and their guest's coats shortly after...
My husbands family says a prayer before dinner with everyone just standing around (we do a buffet style meal), so I just stay out of the room until they're done. No one notices.
When I was a kid I would just sit there and feel really weird. My parents weren't atheists, but we weren't brought up going to church or even knowing the concept of god, so I really didn't understand why we did that at gatherings with the extended family. I didn't even know that Easter was supposed to be a religious holiday until I was in junior high.
This year we have a pair of catholic coming to Thanksgiving dinner and I suspect my wife will struggle with this question. In our case we will have a gathering where 80% of the people are non religious. The question in our case is reversed, and the issue is what should the christians minority do when they come to a dinner with people who do not accept their myth and might be offended with pagan recitals being preformed over their dinner. Should we expect them to go to another room and do the chants out of our hearing, or should they pretend to go into a mini coma and say their blessing in silence over just their plates. The shoe is on the other foot, and I wonder how they will react when the religious are the minority and the blessings are omitted.
I hate to bring the lab environment into the house, but it will be interesting to see how a strong catholic will react in an environment where they are no longer part of a christian majority. It is like having a sociology experiment going on at thanksgiving dinner.
This year we have a pair of catholic coming to Thanksgiving dinner and I suspect my wife will struggle with this question. In our case we will have a gathering where 80% of the people are non religious. The question in our case is reversed, and the issue is what should the christians minority do when they come to a dinner with people who do not accept their myth and might be offended with pagan recitals being preformed over their dinner. Should we expect them to go to another room and do the chants out of our hearing, or should they pretend to go into a mini coma and say their blessing in silence over just their plates. The shoe is on the other foot, and I wonder how they will react when the religious are the minority and the blessings are omitted.
I hate to bring the lab environment into the house, but it will be interesting to see how a strong catholic will react in an environment where they are no longer part of a christian majority. It is like having a sociology experiment going on at thanksgiving dinner.
It's likely they will just bow their head themselves and say a silent prayer before eating.
I normally just play along. I know what I really believe, and participating in a little prayer circle for what's usually just a minute or less isn't gonna change anything. It's really not worth the drama to make a fuss over it.
Or.... do dwell on it, and invite your parents, but then also invite your atheist friends and some of their friends to your house for an informal semi-secular house-warming party. Don't forget your parent's preacher! Also make sure you invite some Wiccans, heathens, chicken-bone readers or... over as well, and make sure they engage in a playful, all-smiles Wiccan house blessing. Maybe you could clean up and use some of the KFC remnants in an unofficial bone reading, right there on top of the laquered black Baby Grand Piano? Just a suggestion....
If your parent's contingent want to "fight back" (Lord! We need to re-bless this house! It's been sullied!"), you can loudly announce that they already did their thing, and you just sought a spiritual "balance". Sort of like what the FOX network strives for!
It will surely tell your lovely parents something about the new you, the mature you, the "I think for myself, thank you VERY much!" you.
But be prepared to get your parent's and their guest's coats shortly after...
Oh man, these are some great ideas! But the only other non-Christian I know is my brother. However, if it were just my parents and my brother and I, at least the balance between Christian and atheist would be equal. Getting my parents' preacher would be simple; my dad is a preacher!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fontucky
But this is the Bible Belt terrorism I was talking about.
I should state that I don't know for certain that I would lose my job, though I do believe it would be a possibility. At the very least I would certainly make a few enemies at work, including my boss. In the interest of self-preservation in tough economic times, I find it's probably best to keep this quiet, no matter how frustrating it is.
This is all the more important because too often people mix religion with Thanksgiving. So, if your family wants to say grace, think of prayer in this context ...
To them, it is giving thanks for being able to be together. To you, it is the same. While they mix some sun worship in with their thanks, you don't ... no need to make a big deal about it. You don't have to repeat what they say. If they ask, just say you prefer to be in "quiet reflection" rather than state things out loud.
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